I grew up with computers and started my first attempts with Linux somwhere around 1998. Unfortunatly (as I'm also a PC gamer) I reverted back to Windows, but I was sure, that there is coming something big. 2010 I gave Linux a new chance with Ubuntu 10.04 on my Netbook. I was really astonished, what happen in the meanwhile. The GUI was good and the whole thing was nice to use. But this time the Intel drivers didn't fit and the performance (especially with flash was poor). So I reinstalled WinXP...

But everything changed four weeks ago. I got an old Dell D430 Laptop and installed Mint 14. What should I say? The thing runs like charm. Everything is (even for an unexpierienced user like me) very intuitive useable. I love Mint and this time I don't miss anything. Everything runs smooth and the batterylife is also good. There are some minor bugs, but they don't really scare me this time. This is the first time, where I want to install Mint also on my big machine, but I still need it for gaming

Great Work, guys!

Greetz from Austria,Zeph

09-20-2015 was a great day: I switched to Linux and left Windows behind...

As mentioned, I'm a guy from Austria. I grew up with computers (my first one was an Amiga 500, followed by a 486DX2-66 in 1992). Since then I worked with DOS/Windows. I was a gamer, so I had to stick with Windows, so I never had a close look to Linux. I tried sometimes, but never considered it as a Gamer-Desktop-Replacement.

But things change! Microsoft got out with Win10, where it is absolutley unpredictable what MS does with the collected data. Although I enjoyed the free Win10 upgrade, the rumors about what MS collects always bothered me.

So it was time again, to give Linux a try. I bought an old computer (Core2Quad 9400, 4GB RAM) fitted an appropriate graphics card to fit my 1440p resolution. I tried Kubuntu 15.04, Manjaro but I wasn't fully satisfied. So I went back to Linux Mint, which I tested successfully in 2012 (where I introduced myself).

I was surprised, because I missed nothing. Even under Windows I ran Open Source Software where I could (LibreOffice, KiCad, RawTherapee etc.), even Firefox and Thunderbird was used. The only open thing was gaming. And here Valve did something great. Out from my 30 games in steam, 12 are compatible with Linux.

So that was the big day, I will not forget: 09-20-2015, the day where I removed Windows and installed Linux on my gaming system (i5-2500k, GTX770). It was quite cool, everything (except the Soundblaster Z) ran out of the box. Gaming with Steam is nothing other than under Windows. Only the performance is a little bit lower and I don't have VSYNC. But that a quite small price, compared to the freedom you get.

Of course, I have to learn quite much, as Linux (although the GUI is quite similar) is a completly different OS than Windows. I have nearly 20 years expirience on Windows, but just a few months on Linux. Nobody shouldn't expect, that you can compensate this within a week.

GreetzZeph

09-20-2015 was a great day: I switched to Linux and left Windows behind...